The Rev. John Carville celebrated 40 years as a priest with friends and family Thursday at the Christ the King chapel, reminiscing about his calling to the priesthood.
Co-pastor from 1983-1988 and pastor since 2002, Carville has immersed himself in the community of Christ the King.
Attendees filled about half the church, mostly students who regularly attend Christ the King.
A number of priests from around the Baton Rouge area, including Baton Rouge Bishop Robert Muench and Archbishop Alfred Hughes, were in attendance.
Carville’s family also attended the celebration.
After the service, each priest briefly shared anecdotes
of his friendship with Carville.
In a sermon written for his anniversary Mass, Carville shared the story of his path to the priesthood.
Carville, a Plaquemine native, attended Catholic schools all his life and said he did not always know that he wanted to be a priest. Carville developed a close bond with some of the religious personnel at St. John Vianney, his high school, and they encouraged him to consider the priesthood.
Two of the most influential adults who guided him to his true calling were a priest at St. John Vianney and his high school principal, an Irish nun, who challenged him to consider a religious vocation. She asked him if he was too “chicken” to go into the seminary.
“When I entered the seminary, priests were some of the most highly-educated professionals, and many people considered becoming a priest admirable, but difficult,” Carville said.
Carville was involved in many sports, including football and basketball, but mostly was a “benchwarmer.” Realizing that his calling was not to be a professional athlete, Carville enrolled at St. Joseph’s Seminary College in Covington after his junior year of high school.
Carville did not begin his career as a priest at Christ the King. After two years at the seminary in Covington, Carville spent six years in New Orleans finishing his undergraduate degree in history. Four years of studying theology in Rome, Italy, earned Carville a European license, similar to a master’s degree.
His first job was as a priest at St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Baton Rouge. A preparatory school for boys interested in the priesthood soon opened in downtown Baton Rouge, and Carville worked there as a priest and teacher.
The preparatory school relocated near the Catholic Life Center on the Acadian Thruway, and Carville worked solely as a teacher.
After serving as a priest at St. John the Evangelist in Plaquemine and finishing his studies in Washington, D.C., Carville served as co-pastor at Christ the King from 1983 to 1987.
At the anniversary Mass, Carville described his call to the ministry as “something of mystery, but something explained by the Catholic culture.”
There currently are 17 students in the seminary, and the Mass focused on calling more students to service.
Carville encouraged students to consider the priesthood and said he was available to answer any questions regarding the vocation.